Out today, Issue 3 of Rams History and Heritage zine. Available for free here https://t.co/Zq9ElMpksN or https://t.co/FTX2pvQzNB if you prefer a pdf you can print. Feel free to pass on the links.
From today, millions of passengers will have better train journeys.
We’ve nationalised Thameslink, Southern, Great Northern and Gatwick Express with plans to recruit more drivers and improve signalling to reduce delays and cancellations.
I had my old account hacked 😭 so for everyone that knows me could you please retweet and follow (assuming you want to) so I can get my followers back.
Thank you ❤️
A statement from @WeAreTheFSA and the prime minister on the European finals being behind a paywall
Finals should really be free to air, as cultural events
Football should bring people together, not shut them out.
For the first time since the competition began, fans won’t be able to watch the Champions League final for free. That’s not right.
This is bigger than wanting to watch Arsenal in this historic final. It’s bigger than one club.
Hardworking people shouldn’t have to fork out for a subscription to watch this match.
I urge TNT Sports to reconsider and make the final next Saturday free to watch.
Angela Rayner was dragged through every front page for weeks...
HMRC's verdict: NOT deliberate. NOT even careless.
Farage pockets £5 million and chooses not to declare it
So where's the wall-to-wall coverage?
Tell me this isn't a rigged game.
There was a time when a European final belonged to the supporters who dragged their club there.
Not anymore.
When Aston Villa were handed roughly 11,000 tickets for a Europa League final in a 70,000-plus stadium, the number itself told the story. UEFA can package the event however it likes — “festival of football”, “European showpiece”, “global celebration” — but the modern European final is no longer built around supporters. It is built around clients.
The supporters fund the journey. The corporates inherit the destination.
Villa fans will have spent thousands following the club across Europe. Flights, hotels, time off work, loyalty schemes built over years. Yet when the final arrives, huge sections of the stadium are reserved for sponsors, hospitality guests, executives, delegates and “neutral” allocations that often end up on resale sites within hours.
And supporters are expected to accept it.
UEFA’s defence is familiar. Sponsors fund competitions. Broadcasters need space. Hospitality drives revenue. All true. But football crossed a line when the event surrounding the final became more important than the supporters inside it.
The optics are awful because fans can see it themselves.
A finalist gets 11,000 tickets while corporate packages costing thousands remain available. Genuine supporters scramble through ballots with lottery-like odds, while neutral areas fill with tourists taking photos during the warm-up.
And UEFA wonders why resentment grows.
Supporters are constantly called “the lifeblood of the game” until ticket allocations are discussed. Then they become an inconvenience to work around premium inventory.
Football did not become Europe’s dominant sport because sponsors created atmosphere. The noise, colour and emotion UEFA sells globally every season is generated by match-going supporters — the same people increasingly pushed aside at the biggest games.
The “neutral fan” concept is perhaps the biggest fiction of all. In theory it promotes access. In reality it fuels resale markets, inflated prices and thousands travelling ticketless out of desperation.
UEFA could change it tomorrow. Finalists could receive 70 per cent of the stadium combined. Corporate sections could shrink. Hospitality would still exist.
But that would mean sacrificing revenue.
And modern football has shown repeatedly which side wins that argument.
#AVFC #scfreiburg
Paula, more people are behind you and support you. There are some too stupid to see how they are being manipulated. I for one really appreciate what you have done and continue to do for athletics. Stay strong!
As a black,british born,working class person,who has competed for my country at the highest level and I'm still supporting athletes of all colours to do the same, today for the 1st time ever, I feel a significant portion of my country does not want me here, that's sad 🥺
Struggling with your mental health this bank holiday?
There are lots of support services available near you to help with your mental health💙💚💛❤️
The graphics below can help you or a loved one find the the support you need. Why not save the images so you have them to hand?
“It’s probably the biggest few seconds of my football career… these moments define you.”
Robin van der Laan.
The 1996 goal.
The season finale is out now.
🎧 https://t.co/GrDwOTYYjY
#dcfcfans#dcfc#ramsfans#robinvanderlaan@rvdlacademy